Tibetans first investigated this strange root-like organism,
奇怪的根状生物体 known locally as "yartsa gunbu",
原因就在于看到了牦牛们在吃完它之后精力充沛
when their yaks appeared to have more energy after grazing on it.
关于它的神奇的特性的传言逐渐传播开来 Rumours of its amazing properties gradually spread.
到了今天 冬虫夏草已经进入了地下黑市
and today the yartsa gunbu is a passport into a shady,underground world.
有时一天一人就可以挖掘40个左右 It's possible to dig up 40 of them in a day,
而这些收入则可能占采集者年收入的一半
the proceeds from which may provide half the collector's annual income.
冬虫夏草被用作传统药物已经上千年
Yartsa gunbu has been used as a traditional remedy for thousands of years,
但仅限于非常富有的人群 though only by the very wealthy.
它被用来交换茶叶和丝绸 It has been bartered for tea and silk,
可以换回超过本身四倍重量的银子 and is worth more than four times its weight in silver.
这项贸易是如此的暴利使得它的交易地点和信息都被谨慎地保护起来
So lucrative is this trade,that sites and information are jealously guarded.
在附近的集市上冬虫夏草被清理干净 At the nearby market,the yartsa gunbu are cleaned,
这使得它的本来面目显露了出来 and their true nature becomes clear.
冬虫夏草被翻译为“冬天的虫子夏天的草” The yartsa gunbu translates as "summer grass,winter worm".
冬虫是一种毛虫 The winter worm is a caterpillar.
它以草根为食 It eats roots of grasses
为自己变身成蛾做准备。 in preparation for its transformation into a moth.
但有些冬虫却从没有机会变成蛾 But some winter worms never make it as moths.
而在夏季一个奇怪的植物 Instead,a strange growth erupts from their body,
在冬虫的体内生长发育直至破土而出 appearing above ground in summer.
这就是“夏草” This is the "summer grass",
一种被称为虫草的真菌 是它的孢子侵入了毛虫体内
a fungus called Cordyceps,whose spores have infected the caterpillar,
并将毛虫的身体作为它们的宿主 using its body as their host.
现代科学实验证明含有冬虫夏草的物质可以
Modern scientific tests have shown that substances contained
降低血压并能使呼吸更顺畅 in Cordyceps lower blood pressure and make it easier to breathe.
所以近些年来收获这种自然资源 So in recent years,harvesting this natural treasure
已经成为有巨大利益的生意 has grown into a huge and profitable business.
Yarsa gunbu 不仅在拉萨的百货公司里畅销
Yartsa gunbu sells for big money in the top department stores of Lhasa, and there is a growing market outside of Tibet.
尽管西藏日新月异地发展 Although Tibet is modernising fast,
它的精神文化依旧根深蒂固 it retains a deeply spiritual culture.
即使在今天 神秘西藏大峡谷的回响仍然在呼唤着祈祷的人们
Even today,Tibetan valleys resound to distinctive and extraordinary calls to prayer.
西藏的号角或许是世界上最笨重的乐器 The Tibetan horn may be the world's most unwieldy instrument,
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